1. snugwuls

   10

   I am a huge fan of the classic graphic adventure gaming genre and a big fan of the Jurassic Park franchise (read both books, loved the first movie, hated the second one, and didn't bother to watch the third one yet). Let me start out by saying that The Jurassic Park: The Game is a GREAT game. It's actually one of the best games that I have played in recent years. I had been putting off buying this game because of the negative press that Telltale was getting (i.e., the "Jeep" incident and the metacritic allegation), but finally made the purchase on Steam along with Batman: Arkham City at 50% discount. Guess which one of these games I found myself coming back to again and again? Yes, I enjoyed playing JPTG even more so than Arkham City, which I felt was basically a rehash of the excellent first game. Now to the game itself. First off, to me this game is the epitome of cinematic storytelling done right in a video game. I can't say enough about how immersive the gaming experience was. I haven't played Heavy Rain or Uncharted series since I don't own a PS3 (although I did play Fahrenheit), so I can't compare the game to those established franchises known for superb storytelling, but as far as I am concerned, the plot, cinematography, music, and dialogue were all excellent. This was no doubt possible only through JPTG's heavy reliance on the "quicktime" game play, which I understand has a lot of detractors. However, after playing through the game, I think this type of gameplay was the best (and possibly only) way to tell this story effectively since the JP franchise is so synonymous with thrills and actions. I admit that some of these action sequences were quite challenging and I died a whole lot. But even some of the death sequences (i.e., getting eaten by dinos) were satisfying to watch. The interface also allows "narrating" the story from different perspectives at the same time, which was quite interesting and ingenious in my opinion. Some adventure purists may feel that the inability to move the characters directly restricting, but I personally didn't mind this at all. I played JPTG with my XBox 360 controller and I do highly recommend playing with one. I'd imagine doing those quick time sequences with a mouse/keyboard would be significantly less enjoyable somehow. The puzzles are extremely well designed. They are logical and realistic, and are seamlessly integrated into the plot. As such, the puzzles don't require cartoonish logic (No "apply molasses to cat hair to make a fake mustache" type of nonsensical puzzles) and often objects that behave realistically like their real-life counterparts. One of JPTG's strongest suits is its dialogue. The game overall is very well scripted. Although you won't mistake it for a Sorkin flick, the quality of writing is far better than some of the drabs you find in today's Hollywood blockbusters. The characters are both varied and interesting. Each character has a back story, which gets developed slowly throughout the game, and plays an important role to advance the overall plot. The story is face-paced and thrilling at some points and emotional and thought-provoking at others. The scientific tidbits that are introduced throughout the game are both interesting and consistent with the JP lore. One interesting thing that Telltale attempts to do in JPTG is to correct some of the scientific inaccuracies that were introduced in the original movie by explaining that the frog DNAs that were spliced into the dinos by Dr. Wu had introduced these "anomalies" in JP's dinosaurs. Now for the bad parts, which aren't that many. The most obvious one is its graphics, which is the biggest gripe that I have had with virtually all of Telltales' titles. It's definitely not top-of-the-line. But, then again, it is certainly "serviceable." The animation is quite fantastic in many areas actually. I don't know if they used motion-capturing technology, but the animations in a lot of the action sequences are top notch and the facial expressions are certainly good enough to covey the emotional depths. But the character models themselves lack the details and look "plasticky" under certain lighting conditions. The jungle, which is pretty much everywhere in this game, looks quite cheap if you look closely. The swaying grass and bushes are simply 2D textures moving side to side. That said, this is certainly the most graphically advanced game that Telltale has created so far. (I don't know if that's supposed to be a commendation or an indictment, but hey.) For those of you who are fans of adventure games, scientific fictions, or just dinosaurs in general, I highly recommend this game. For the Jurassic Park aficionados, JPTG is truly a worthy (and might I say "essential") addition to the beloved but aging franchise that is in sore need of its own "resurrecting."… Expand

   • Helpful?

     3 of 4 users said yes
2. dulcinea7

   6

   This game is indeed like an interactive movie. It's a bit cheesy and unrealistic, but I found it to be quite fun. If you're a big fan of the Jurassic Park movies, then I would suggest picking up the game, but definitely not for full price! Wait til it drops down a bit (which I'm certain it will do soon). it could be better and would definitely be a lot more fun if it were more of an action game rather than a "how fast can you push this button" game. it is fun to play it with someone watching though, so that you can laugh and make fun of it together/enjoy it for the movie-like experience that it is tl;dr: it's an interactive, cheesy movie, but fun.… Expand

   • Helpful?

     2 of 2 users said yes
3. Runisco

   0

   The game is mildly speaking sub par. Has trouble with graphics on computers with more than adequate graphical power. And for someone who has watched the movies this is an utter disappointment. but what REALLY drags down the score is telltale employees trying to boost the scare to a fake level with only favourable reviews. Here is a hint guys, when stuff like that happens and we find out we unleash the **** like this game did.… Expand

   • Helpful?

     9 of 12 users said yes

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